Bardo (in France Bardo, false chronicle of some truths), produced by Netflix, joins other films from the streaming giant’s catalog, or from Amazon and Disney+, which operators have decided to deprive of theatrical release. This is due to France’s own media chronology, as they are released in cinemas elsewhere in the world. “I am disappointed that the French cannot have this possibility. These are the rules of each country, I can’t do anything about it“, confided the director during an interview with AFP.
This timeline governs the dates on which films can be streamed, in particular, in the months following their cinema release. It has become a recurring subject of debate, with Netflix, Disney and Amazon being major content producers who also seek to protect and make their productions and platform profitable.
A new agreement, signed in January, allows Netflix to broadcast films 15 months after their theatrical release in France on its platform, against 36 months previously. Its co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, however, estimated this summer, in the Sunday Journal, that this model was still “not sustainable“, preferring a delay of “a few weeks“.
For the same reasons, Disney is threatening to deprive French theaters of revenue from its next blockbuster Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverwhich is due out November 9 but could go straight to its Disney+ streaming service.
Presented at the Venice Film Festival in early September, bardo chronicles the return home of a Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker to receive an award. The director of birdman and babel returns there to his country after more than twenty years, precisely to recount the absence, what it means to leave and to be a luxury immigrant.
Unlike France, this film will be entitled to a theatrical release on October 27 in Mexico, then on November 4 in the United States, before breaking into several European countries (Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, etc.) for two weeks. later. Its release on Netflix is scheduled to take place on December 16.
“In Mexico, it will stay seven weeks in theaters, they will be able to see it in IMAX [sur des écrans de très grande taille]as in the United States and the rest of the world“, underlined Alejandro Iñarritu. He insists on his will to propose “a fully sensory and cinematic experience“thanks to extensive work on the soundtrack.”So I’m very happy that Netflix is letting me play for seven weeks, that seems important to me.“, insisted the director.